| This week's sponsor is Acme Packet. | 
| Webinar: Telco-OTT: the Good, the Fast and the Nimble
Thursday, September 27, 11am ET / 8am PT
Service providers have been in a perennial battle with "over-the-top" internet vendors who leverage bandwidth but often do not play by the same regulatory or financial rules. Does it need to be a battle of us vs. them? Register Today! |
Today's Top Stories
1. DirecTV designs flame logo for set-tops and DVRs
2. Verizon adds Barbie Channel to FiOS TV lineup
3. Comcast tops pay TV and Internet video distributors in VOD movie sales
4. Time Warner Cable signs La Comunidad to lead Hispanic marketing efforts
5. AT&T, Verizon, others reportedly considering move to shift games into MVPD cloud space Also Noted: Ciena and Fujitsu
Spotlight On... NAMIC picks roster for Executive Leadership Development Program
Optimum Lightpath wins IT customer; Amdocs deploys customer management product in India and much more...  Follow @FierceCable on Twitter!
News From the Fierce Network:
1. Connected Home Academy joins Open IPTV Forum
2. Dish accuses Sprint of glossing over spectrum issues
3. Satellite could solve rural broadband problem; Iran blocks access to Google Gmail
| This week's sponsor is Overture. |  | eBook: Finding New Gold in Copper This eBook from FierceTelecom will explore the ever-changing dynamics of service providers' copper networks and how they are using these new technologies to deliver a wider set of services to consumers and businesses. Download for free today. |
| Sponsor: SCTE FierceLive! Webinars > Telco-OTT: the Good, the Fast and the Nimble - Thursday, September 27, 11am ET / 8am PT
> Beyond the Cable: The Move to Mobility by MSOs - October 9th, 11:00 am EST/ 8:00 am PST
> Mobile Acceleration for the Mobile Revolution - Tuesday, November 13th, 2pm ET / 11am PT
> Carrier Ethernet woes? Here's an economical approach to improving operational efficiency and network visibility - Wednesday, October 10, 11am ET / 8am PT / 3pm GMT
> The 1000x challenge; Small cells everywhere! - Wednesday, October 17, 12pm ET / 9am PT
Events > Customer Engagement Technology World - November 7-8, 2012 - NY, NY
> Fierce Innovation Awards 2012 - An Operator- Reviewed Awards Program From the Publishers of FierceWireless, FierceTelecom, FierceCable
> Video World Conference & Expo 2012 - October 3-5 - Austin, TX
> TVNEXT - October 10-11 - Santa Clara, CA
> CTAM Summit & CTAM Insights Conferences - October 14-16 - Orlando, FL
> Content and Communications World (CCW) - November 14-15 - New York, NY
Marketplace > Research: LTE: a real disruptive technology and business opportunity?
> Whitepaper: Case Study: 4G Operator Maximizes Revenue with Flexibile, and Discovery-driven Audit Capabilities
> Whitepaper: Rethink IP/Optical Core Management
> EBook: The New Data Center
> EBook: Finding New Gold in Copper
> Whitepaper: Kabel Deutschland Uses Lavastorm Analytics' Flexibility to Optimize Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management Processes
> EBook: Dodd-Frank: The Key to Compliance Success
Jobs > Project Manager Job - Charlotte, NC, USA – Yoh
> Wireless Project Manager Job - Cerritos, CA, USA – Yoh
> Field Technicians (5) Job - Melbourne, FL, USA – Yoh
> Field Technician (CDMA and LTE experience preferred) Job - Plano, TX, USA – Yoh
* Post a classified ad: Click here.
* General ad info: Click here | Today's Top News 1. DirecTV designs flame logo for set-tops and DVRs
DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) has designed a new logo for set-tops and DVRs that it describes in a trademark application as an image consisting of a "flame or smoke-like element with human-like features."  | | Image source: U.S. PTO and DirecTV | The top satellite TV provider reserved the right to use the image on set-tops and DVRs, in addition to satellite TV and video-on-demand services, according to the application, which was filed on Sept. 18 at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. "It's something we did file, and may use in the future," DirecTV spokesman Darris Gringeri told FierceCable Tuesday. The image that DirecTV included in the trademark application appears to depict a woman made of flames. The design search codes that DirecTV lists in the trademark application include the search code for "other grotesque women including women formed by plants or objects" and "geometric figures or combinations of geometric figures representing a person." It also included the design code for "fire (flames), other than flames emanating from objects, words, numbers, fireplaces or candles." DirecTV rival Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) has also developed new logos for its set-tops. Its new Hopper multiroom DVR features an image of a kangaroo. Related articles:
DirecTV trademarks 'Grab & Go' for mobile video product
DirecTV pursues 'perfect 90-day install,' in shift from subscriber acquisition to retention
'Dish Network names P&G veteran Andrew Cipra VP of brand marketing
Dish banks on magic and kangaroos named Hopper and Joey for turnaround Read more about: Directv, Trademark
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| This week's sponsor is SCTE Cable-Tec. |  | SCTE Cable-Tec Expo®2012 - Oct. 17-19, Orlando, FL
The industry's engineering show of the year. Discover and learn first-hand about the latest in cable technology, products and services in one cost-effective setting.
|
2. Verizon adds Barbie Channel to FiOS TV lineup
3. Comcast tops pay TV and Internet video distributors in VOD movie sales
Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) sold more paid video-on-demand movies than any other provider or Internet video distributor during the first half of 2012, accounting for 23 percent of the VOD rental market, NPD Group said in a release. DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) placed second, with a 14 percent share of paid VOD movie rentals, according to the VideoWatch VOD report that NPD released Monday. The satellite TV provider was followed by Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), which had a 9 percent share. Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iTunes store sold more movies than any other Internet video provider, representing 8 percent of paid video rentals, NPD said. It was followed by Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) FiOS TV and Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH), which each had a 7 percent share. "When it comes to paying for on-demand movies on an a-la-carte basis, cable companies are by far the primary conduit, due in large part to their widespread penetration and usage in Americans' homes," NPD SVP of industry analysis Russ Crupnick said in a statement. For more:
- see the release Related articles:
Comcast $60 VoD movie test sparks boycott threat from Cinemark
Major cable MSOs to deploy ThinkAnalytics recommendation engine
Cablevision expands VOD rental window; SeaChange completes sale of broadcast server business
Rentrak: Free VOD traffic jumped 17% in 2011 Read more about: Verizon
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4. Time Warner Cable signs La Comunidad to lead Hispanic marketing efforts
Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) said Tuesday that it signed Miami-based ad agency La Comunidad to help it target Hispanic subscribers through TV, print, radio, direct mail and out-of-home ad campaigns. The nation's second largest cable MSO has increased efforts to reach Hispanic subscribers in several of its key markets, including Southern California, New York and Florida. Next week, it will launch a Spanish-language regional sports network in Southern California called Time Warner Cable Deportes. It has also developed multiplatform programming for Hispanic subscribers, adding 37 Spanish-language channels last fall to an app it has built for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad. Time Warner Cable said it named La Comunidad its multicultural agency of record after conducting a review of agencies that was led by Accenture. The MSO said La Comunidad will team up with Omnicom's Zimmerman Advertising subsidiary on direct marketing efforts, and will produce direct marketing materials at a Zimmerman facility in Florida. "We realize the immense value in effectively reaching the Hispanic community, and we are making that a top priority," Time Warner Cable Chief Marketing Officer Jeffrey Hirsch said in a statement. For more:
- see the release Related articles:
Victor Cruz could help Time Warner Cable combat DirecTV's 'Sunday Ticket' campaigns
Time Warner Cable plugs Netflix in Super Bowl commercial
Time Warner Cable challenges News Corp. with launch of regional sports channels in California
Time Warner Cable adds Spanish-language channels to iPad app; Liberty Global, Intel invest in Delivery Agent Read more about: Time Warner Cable
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5. AT&T, Verizon, others reportedly considering move to shift games into MVPD cloud space
MVPDs are ready to turn the tables on video-enabled gaming consoles such as the Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox, Sony (NYSE: SNE) PS3 and even the upcoming Nintendo Wii U and deliver their own cloud-based games on their own networks. According to a story in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, MVPDs will begin gaming services trials later this year, and wider deployments could stretch through 2013 and 2014. AT&T (NYSE: T) U-verse, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) FiOS, Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) are among those listed in the story as participants in a move that could shift games away from consoles and into the MVPD cloud. The MVPDs would reportedly use technology from such companies as Playcast Media Systems, CiiNOW and Agawi, all of which confirmed they have been in talks with MVPDs but declined to name names. Time Warner Cable and Comcast declined to comment. AT&T was more forthcoming, with spokeswoman Jan Rasmussen admitting that the company is "exploring unique ways to offer cloud gaming services to our TV and broadband customers." Verizon's spokeswoman, Deidre Hart, didn't offer up much more than to say what is already known: Verizon doesn't "offer anything regarding HD cloud gaming." MVPDs would have to license virtualization technology, incorporate "powerful graphics processors" into their data centers and attract an audience willing to pay for the experience. That's not necessarily a slam dunk. The story cited the case of the OnLine Live start-up backed by AT&T and Time Warner that failed to get an audience for its $9.99 a month service and also mentioned Gaikai, another competitor that agreed to be bought by Sony. Still, there are plenty of reasons why MVPDs would want to play in the lucrative games business. The potential to make a lot of money is huge and the potential to grab and hold a generation of gamers who are drifting away to OTT is even bigger. "It makes perfect sense why they would want to go after this market," Mitch Lasky, a partner at Benchmark Capital and an early investor in Gaikai, told the publication. "Streaming games use a ton of bandwidth and really benefit from good networks. But it's a gnarly execution problem they're trying to solve." It's also an expensive proposition, suggested Nvidia's Senior Vice President Tony Tamasi, who said his company is working on it. "It's a substantial investment of both hardware and software," Tamasi said. "We've put stuff into our chips specifically to enable this kind of functionality." Games publishers have to like the idea as well. If the MVPDs can get together and come up with a common platform, a game would only have to be written once rather than multiple times for multiple gaming platforms. This is not only a U.S. phenomenon. Cloud gaming is already happening in Portugal, France, Singapore and South Korea, with Playcast and CiiNOW providing help. "If there was ever a service that fit network providers, it's this one," CiiNOW CEO Ron Haberman told BusinessWeek. "2013 is going to be when we see big commercial offerings." For more:
- see this story in Bloomberg BusinessWeek Related articles:
Online video part of the game for Nintendo Wii U
Microsoft hires entertainment exec to develop Xbox video content
Angelakis: Comcast would support competing user interfaces Read more about: cloud-based video games
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Also Noted | This week's sponsors are Ciena and Fujitsu. |  | eBook: Looking Beyond 100G Driven by a never-ending appetite for bandwidth from businesses and consumers, service providers are in the process of upgrading their backbone and core networks. This eBook discusses the strategies, emerging standards, and technological advancements beyond 100G.
Click here to download today. |
SPOTLIGHT ON... NAMIC picks roster for Executive Leadership Development Program The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) released the roster Tuesday for its next Executive Leadership Development Program, which kicks off next week at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. The class includes several executives from cable MSOs, programmers and associations, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Cox Communications Turner, ESPN and NCTA. Read more Cable industry news from across the Web: > Cablevision's Optimum Lightpath division said New Jersey-based IT staffing and consulting firm Tekmark deployed its Internet Voice Bundle and E-Line products. News release > Amdocs said Reliance Communications, India's third largest broadband and telecom company, upgraded to its Amdocs Customer Management 8.1 product. News release > Sigma Systems said it promoted Rick Mallon to VP of marketing and product management. News release > AT&T said it donated $100,000 to the Floyd County Schools in Kentucky to fund the "It's All About Success" program for at-risk students. News release > HickoryTech said it will pay shareholders a dividend of $0.145 per share on Dec. 5. News release > Comcast kicked off the second year of availability of its Internet Essentials program at an event in Washington, D.C. News release And finally… Knology Business launched a new website for its commercial customers. News release > Telco-OTT: the Good, the Fast and the Nimble - Thursday, September 27, 11am ET / 8am PT Service providers have been in a perennial battle with "over-the-top" internet vendors who leverage bandwidth but often do not play by the same regulatory or financial rules. Does it need to be a battle of us vs. them? Register Today! > Beyond the Cable: The Move to Mobility by MSOs - October 9th, 11:00 am EST/ 8:00 am PST The best immediate prospects for MSOs may lie on using Wi-Fi to harvest data from mobile operators for backhaul over MSO HFC networks. Wi-Fi networks provide a huge differentiation and opportunities for cable operators. This webinar will explore how MSOs are integrating Wi-Fi into their existing network architectures and examine the economics behind Wi-Fi for cable operators. Register Now! > Mobile Acceleration for the Mobile Revolution - Tuesday, November 13th, 2pm ET / 11am PT A revolution is underway in how companies interact with audiences online. Join us to learn the recent results from Compuware research on mobile performance expectations, unique challenges presented by delivery over cellular networks, and what to consider when balancing mobile performance and usability. Register Today! > Carrier Ethernet woes? Here's an economical approach to improving operational efficiency and network visibility - Wednesday, October 10, 11am ET / 8am PT / 3pm GMT This webinar introduces a centralized Ethernet service activation and monitoring solution that enables network operators to deploy cost-effectively, accelerate time to revenue and boost operational efficiency, while optimizing subscriber experience. Register Today! > The 1000x challenge; Small cells everywhere! - Wednesday, October 17, 12pm ET / 9am PT To solve the 1000x mobile data challenge, we need more small cells, actually, much more, and everywhere - But, isn't interference a limiting factor? How dense can we deploy them? What are the future enhancements that takes HetNets to the next level? Find out the answers at this Qualcomm webinar. Register Today!
| > Customer Engagement Technology World - November 7-8, 2012 - NY, NY CETW is the only face-to-face event that is focused on leveraging the integration of emerging media across multiple channels to activate customer engagement. Register today with VIP Code CET52D to receive your free pass! > Fierce Innovation Awards 2012 - An Operator- Reviewed Awards Program From the Publishers of FierceWireless, FierceTelecom, FierceCable This program is designed to recognize the innovative companies and products that are defining the future of the broadband communications industry. Submissions will be judged based on effective application of and performance in networks, innovative approach, and contribution to revenue & profitability. Submit your application today! > Video World Conference & Expo 2012 - October 3-5 - Austin, TX The first-of-its-kind event focuses on the identification of opportunities, creation of strategies and monetization of new & enhanced video products for business & consumers. We’ve assembled the best & brightest industry minds to provide attendees the knowledge to boost their video IQ. Register now. > TVNEXT - October 10-11 - Santa Clara, CA Social TV, TV Apps, Cloud TV, Broadband TV, and more... It's all part of the re-imagining of TV happening only at the 6th annual TVNEXT in October. Hear from over 50 top-notch speakers and networks with hundreds of the "who's-who" in the TV and entertainment industry. Learn more! > CTAM Summit & CTAM Insights Conferences - October 14-16 - Orlando, FL Discover what consumers crave with speakers from Trendrr, Zoove & Hill Holliday. Additional Speakers: Deepak Chopra, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer and NBC’s David Gregory. Additional Topics: Second Screen TV apps, Mobile Marketing and Amazing Sensory Research Tools. Register for one conference and access both! Register Today and bring a colleague at $595 Guest Rate! > Content and Communications World (CCW) - November 14-15 - New York, NY Thousands of attendees and exhibitors alike participate in the ever-changing conversation surrounding content creation, management and distribution/delivery. Join them! Register today with VIP Code CCEY8 to receive your free pass!
| > Research: LTE: a real disruptive technology and business opportunity? WiTech's latest Report "LTE: a disruptive technology and business opportunity" presents an in-depth analysis about the promising technology LTE by taking into account not only technology aspects but also business aspects. It points out the key drivers that are continuously changing the Telecom Market. Download this report today! > Whitepaper: Case Study: 4G Operator Maximizes Revenue with Flexibile, and Discovery-driven Audit Capabilities A US 4G operator was perfectly suited to handle the predicted annual doubling of global mobile data traffic. But as the company faced exponential subscriber and network usage growth, they realized they needed to better monitor that usage. Learn how this US 4G operator realized 13x ROI for its retail business in the first six months. Download Today! > Whitepaper: Rethink IP/Optical Core Management Are You Ready to Rethink Your Network With the Alcatel-Lucent 1830 Photonic Service Switch? It's time to integrate the IP and optical layers of your network infrastructure and ensure optimal efficiency. Learn more about how you can rethink IP/Optical core management by downloading our whitepaper. > EBook: The New Data Center In this FierceTelecom eBook we'll discuss the strategies service providers are taking to build a sustainable and profitable data center business. To read more click here to download. > EBook: Finding New Gold in Copper This eBook from FierceTelecom will explore the ever-changing dynamics of service providers' copper networks and how they are using these new technologies to deliver a wider set of services to consumers and businesses. Download for free today. > Whitepaper: Kabel Deutschland Uses Lavastorm Analytics' Flexibility to Optimize Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management Processes Learn how Kabel Deutschland achieved quantifiable ROI in less than one year, accelerated detection of fraudulent activity by more than 2000 percent, and improved customer satisfaction. Download this case study today. > EBook: Dodd-Frank: The Key to Compliance Success Driven by a never-ending appetite for bandwidth from businesses and consumers, service providers are in the process of upgrading their backbone and core networks. This eBook discusses the strategies, emerging standards, and technological advancements beyond 100G. Click here to download today.
| > Project Manager Job - Charlotte, NC, USA – Yoh Yoh has a contract opportunity for a Project Manager to join our client in Charlotte, NC 28217. The Senior Project Manager is responsible for planning and managing medium to large sized application development projects. Six (6) years of previous experience with technical applications and/or information systems (or equivalent) required...Learn more. > Wireless Project Manager Job - Cerritos, CA, USA – Yoh Yoh has a one (1) year full time contract opportunity for a Wireless Project Manager to join a large telecom client located in the Los Angeles CA area (Cerritos CA). Responsibilities include managing project completions (LTE, UMTS, NSB, and all other modifications) from issuance of work order to turn up including finance and timeline forecasts. The ideal candidate will have strong organizational and communication skills, be able to work independently and be able to work on scheduling and reporting...Learn more. > Field Technicians (5) Job - Melbourne, FL, USA – Yoh Yoh has five (5) month contract opportunities for five (5) Field Technicians to join our client in Melbourne, FL. This job will involve going out to sea and working on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships 2-3 weeks out of a month. Our client is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Minimum two (2) years' experience with VSAT systems required...Learn more. > Field Technician (CDMA and LTE experience preferred) Job - Plano, TX, USA – Yoh Yoh has a contract opportunity for a Field Technician (CDMA and LTE experience preferred) to join our client in Plano, TX. Responsibilities include developing proficiency in primary skills of customer relations, basic electricity, basic electronics, basic telephony, radio principles for CDMA, LTE and iDEN, and basic principles of digital transmission, fiber communication, data communication, telephony terminology, industry standards, and on-line network control/maintenance systems. Must be able to multi-task and maintain composure in stressful and demanding work environment...Learn more. | |
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